iPod: Enter passcode

Factual Questions
1

I’m still using an iPod I bought… I don’t know how long ago. A dozen? Anyway, it’s an iPod Touch, 1st Generation. Mostly, I plug it into the dock of the clock radio on my desk twice a week when I come into the office. The only other times I use it is on the rare, long road trip.

This morning I plugged it in as usual and got preoccupied getting my day started. I looked over to move the slider to open it up, and there was a screen saying I needed to enter a passcode. I have no recollection of ever giving it a passcode. It hasn’t been plugged into a computer in years. I pulled it out of the dock, shut it off, and restarted it. From there I could ‘slide to unlock’ as expected.

  1. Why would this screen suddenly show up after over a decade of use?
  2. Assuming I did give it a long-forgotten passcode, what recourse would I have if the restart didn’t work?
2

Just hit enter. If you didn’t set a passcode the default is nothing. And if that doesn’t work good luck.

3

Thanks. I’ll try that if it comes up again.

4

Assumedly you have your music and playlists backed up somewhere, just in case?